How God Gathered the Waters and Fenced the Sea with Sand

On the third day the earth was a level plain like a valley, and the waters covered the whole face of the earth. When the word went forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, "Let the waters be gathered" - the mountains and hills spread apart over the whole face of the earth, and deep valleys were formed; the inner part of the earth rose up, and the waters rolled down and were gathered, as it is said: "And the gathering of the waters He called Seas." Immediately the waters swelled with pride and rose to cover the earth as at the beginning, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them and subdued them and set them beneath the soles of His feet, and measured them in His handful, neither to diminish nor to add, and made the sand a fence for the sea, like a man who makes a fence for his vineyard; so that when they rise and see the sand before them, they turn back, as it is said (Jeremiah 5:22): "Do you not fear Me?" and so on.